Washington (CNN) - In the bitter political debate over health care reform two years ago, one of the most contentious issues was a proposed advisory board that would recommend how to achieve needed but as-yet-unreachable Medicare savings.

Opponents dubbed the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) a "death panel" that would ration medical coverage for senior citizens based on cost and effectiveness, rather than decisions reached between patient and doctor.

soundoff(11 Responses)

Larry L

Compromise will never be possible as long as Republicans continue to misrepresent provisions of the proposals – like the "death panel" which is reality a process to help control the cost of the healthcare associated with procedures and tests that are inneffective, unnecessary, and often significantly reduce the quality of life for those who have reached the end of their life.

No significant reductions in healthcare costs can work without a serious attempt to implement preventive medicine across our society – at all ages. For each smoker that dies a young person is replacing them. The folks that run marketing for those products better hope there is no hell...

Our population isn't "big", "heavy" or "plump". Most of us are plain old fat. Really fat. Morbidly obese. Diabetes and chronic heart disease will cause the total collaspe of our healthcare system unless we stop this shocking, and completely controlable trend. Yet once again, Republicans (Sarah Palin) made a political point out of the First Lady's efforts to curb childhood obesity. Sarah said it was wrong for the "guvement" (pronounced correctly with a stupid and angry look on your face...) to tell mothers how to feed their children. Really? How good a job are mothers doing without advice?

March 21, 2012 10:44 am at 10:44 am |

The Real Tom Paine

Like I've always said, apparently the GOP feels a panel of accountants working for an insurance company know how to treat you better than your own doctor. This is the logic the GOP operates in, that if its private, its ok. The insurance companies have done a miserable job of containing costs, and hiked rates year after year while continuing to deny people coverage, often for the flimsiest of reasons.

March 21, 2012 11:12 am at 11:12 am |

Rudy NYC

If Republicans wish to call them "death panels", then let's play their little word game. Let's play along and do it their way. Let's get rid of the ACA and its' "death panels" and replace it with...What?

I guess we replace with what we have always had. A claims associate telling you that you ailment will no longer be covered, and that you are being dropped. Isn't that practice why we had to create Medicare in the first place?

March 21, 2012 11:22 am at 11:22 am |

Lizzie

Larry L, misrepresent? What, the fact that the healthcare Tzar said people over 55 are not productive anymore and therefore don't need expensive medical services, or the fact that over 500 million are taken from Medicare to fund the NEW healthcare portion, or that now the cost is estimated to be 1.8 TRILLION not the 950 Billion the democrats claimed by only figuring the cost for 6 years instead of 10, or the fact that part of it is already found to be not feasible.

March 21, 2012 11:24 am at 11:24 am |

Lizzie

The Real....... One way to change that would be to sell across state lines, but the democrats receive to much money from insurance to let that happen.

The health care law has never been particularly popular — even when President Obama signed it into law two years ago this month. A poll earlier this week from ABCNews/Washington Post found that 67 percent of Americans believe the high court should either ditch the law or at least the portion that requires nearly all Americans to have coverage.

March 21, 2012 11:46 am at 11:46 am |

Mikey

@Lizzie – Allowing them to sell across state line, in and of itself, will not solve the problem. If you live in California and insurance in Alabama is cheaper, that may be fine, but have fun going to Birmingham to see a doctor within their network.

Let's get rid of the blanket anti-trust exemption the industry enjoys that became counter productive and obsolete when the industry, made up primarily of policy holder controlled mutual companies, morphed into a for profit industry.

March 21, 2012 11:48 am at 11:48 am |

The Real Tom Paine

Lizzie, if Obama was to propose selling insurance across statelines, you can be sure the GOP would oppose it out of reflex. Also, where is the money coming from that would ensure Democrats are opposing the idea? The Healthcare reform is a GOP wish list, and the GOP knows this. BTW, the healthcare Tzar never said people over 55 were not productive and did not require expensive medical services: what rightie propaganda website did you cull that lie from?

March 21, 2012 11:50 am at 11:50 am |

Rudy NYC

Lizzie wrote:

The Real....... One way to change that would be to sell across state lines, but the democrats receive to much money from insurance to let that happen.
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Allow me to blow away the smoke for you. Buying insurance is not like going out to buy a gallon of milk. If see the cost of milk is cheaper elsewhere, you can go there and buy it at that price.

Insurance is totally different. It works just like your auto insurance. If I live in NYC and buy insurance from an agent in NYC, he will sell me insurance based upon the fact that I live and work in NYC. If I try to buy insurance form an agent in LA, then he will me me insurance based upon the fact that I live and work in NYC.

Telling that it will be cheaper to cross state lines is a big lie. Furthermore, they want you to believe that you can just go to the next state over and buy it cheaper. What if the cheaper state is a thousand miles away?

Are you traveling a thousand miles to go buy it? Of course, not. If you could afford the trip, then you could afford to buy it in your own state in the first place. Wake up and think for yourself, instead of going with whatever people tell you to believe.